Civil Service (Civo) United on Sunday joined the pantheon of local greats to have won the Standard Bank Knockout Cup after beating Mighty Be Forward Wanderers 1-0 at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.
Civo’s marksman Nelson Kangunje was the hero of the afternoon when he scored the priceless goal with only three minutes to full time.
A free-kick from Wyson Nkana was miscleared by the Nomads defender and on pounced Kangunje to provide the final flourish to send the stadium into delirium.
It was Civo’s first silverware in five years after winning the Presidential Cup in 2010 when they beat their capital city rivals Silver Strikers 1-0.
And this was their third final appearance in the Standard Bank Knockout Cup having lost in the finals to Moyale and Azam Tigers under Alex Masanjala.
Civo’s captain Emmanuel Zoya could not hide his excitement.
“We have waited for this moment for a long time. Having reached the finals, we knew this could be our time,” said Zoya.
Wanderers team manager Stevie Madeira said his team paid the price for missing a plethora of chances.
“We had good chances in the first half, but we failed to make good use of them,” he said
For winning the cup, Civo carted a home a cool K10 million winner’s cheque plus the trophy.